A novel method for unambiguous ion identification in mixed ion beams extracted from an EBIT

A novel technique to identify small fluxes of mixed highly charged ion beams extracted from an Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) is presented and practically demonstrated. The method exploits projectile charge state dependent potential emission of electrons as induced by ion impact on a metal surface to separate ions with identical or very similar mass-to-charge ratio.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Precision measurement of the lifetime of the 1s2s3S1 metastable level in heliumlike O6+

The lifetime of the 1s2s3S1 level of the He-like O6+ ion has been measured using the Electron Beam Ion Trap in the magnetic trapping mode. A value of 956-4+5 μs is found, which corresponds to a radiative transition rate of 1046-5+4 s-1 for the magnetic dipole transition to the 1s21S0 ground state. This value is in excellent agreement with recent theoretical predictions and distinguishes among different treatments of negative energy states and correlation in multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock calculations

A high-resolution transmission-type x-ray spectrometer designed for observation of the Kα transitions of highly charged high-Z ions

High-resolution reflection-type crystal spectrometers have been used for x-ray energies up to 13 keV, e.g., the K-shell radiation of heliumlike Kr. In order to extend crystal spectrometer measurements to higher energy x rays from higher-Z elements, we employ the crystal in transmission. The geometry we use is known as DuMond geometry. Using such a transmission-type crystal x-ray spectrometer, we have measured the K-shell radiation of various highly charged high-Z ions. In particular, we present a measurement of the 1s2p 1P1→1s2 1S0 transition in heliumlike xenon, Xe52+. For this transition, we measure a linewidth of 34 eV, which demonstrates that the resolving power we achieved with the new spectrometer is on the order of 100

Detection of the 5p-4f orbital crossing and its optical clock transition in Pr9+

Recent theoretical works have proposed atomic clocks based on narrow optical transitions in highly charged ions. The most interesting candidates for searches of new physics are those which occur at rare orbital crossings where the shell structure of the periodic table is reordered. There are only three such crossings expected to be accessible in highly charged ions, and hitherto none have been observed as both experiment and theory have proven difficult. In this work we observe an orbital crossing in highly charged ions for the first time, in a system chosen to be tractable from both sides: Pr9+. We present electron beam ion trap measurements of its spectra, including the inter-configuration lines that reveal the sought-after crossing. The proposed nHz-wide clock line, found to be at 452.334(1) nm, proceeds through hyperfine admixture of its upper state with an E2-decaying level. With state-of-the-art calculations we show that it has a very high sensitivity to new physics and extremely low sensitivity to external perturbations, making it a unique candidate for proposed precision studies

Empirically Derived Integrated Stellar Yields of Fe-Peak Elements

We present here the initial results of a new study of massive star yields of Fe-peak elements. We have compiled from the literature a database of carefully determined solar neighborhood stellar abundances of seven iron-peak elements, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni and then plotted [X/Fe] versus [Fe/H] to study the trends as functions of metallicity. Chemical evolution models were then employed to force a fit to the observed trends by adjusting the input massive star metallicity-sensitive yields of Kobayashi et al. Our results suggest that yields of Ti, V, and Co are generally larger as well as anticorrelated with metallicity, in contrast to the Kobayashi et al. predictions. We also find the yields of Cr and Mn to be generally smaller and directly correlated with metallicity compared to the theoretical results. Our results for Ni are consistent with theory, although our model suggests that all Ni yields should be scaled up slightly. The outcome of this exercise is the computation of a set of integrated yields, i.e., stellar yields weighted by a slightly flattened time-independent Salpeter initial mass function and integrated over stellar mass, for each of the above elements at several metallicity points spanned by the broad range of observations. These results are designed to be used as empirical constraints on future iron-peak yield predictions by stellar evolution modelers. Special attention is paid to the interesting behavior of [Cr/Co] with metallicity -- these two elements have opposite slopes -- as well as the indirect correlation of [Ti/Fe] with [Fe/H]. These particular trends, as well as those exhibited by the inferred integrated yields of all iron-peak elements with metallicity, are discussed in terms of both supernova nucleosynthesis and atomic physics.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures; Accepted for Publication in the Astrophysical Journa

EUV spectroscopy of Sn5+-Sn(10+)ions in an electron beam ion trap and laser-produced plasmas

Emission spectra from multiply-charged Sn5+ –Sn10+ions are recorded from an electron beam ion trap (EBIT) and from laser-produced plasma (LPP) in the extreme ultraviolet range relevant for nanolithographic applications. Features in the wavelength regime between 12.6 and 20.8 nm are studied. Using the Cowan code, emission line features of the charge-state-resolved Sn ion spectra obtained from the EBIT are identified. Emission features from tin LPP either from a liquid micro-droplet or planar solid target are subsequently identified and assigned to specific charge states using the EBIT data. For the planar solid tin target, the 4d–5p transitions of Sn8+ –Sn10+ions are shown to dominate the long-wavelength part of the measured spectrum and transitions of type 4d–4f + 4p–4d are visible in absorption. For the droplet target case, a clear increase in the charge state distribution with increasing laser intensity is observed. This qualitatively demonstrates the potential of using long-wavelength out-of-band emission features to probe the charge states contributing to the strong unresolved transition array at 13.5 nm relevant for nanolithography

EUV spectroscopy of highly charged Sn13+-Sn15+ ions in an electron-beam ion trap

Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) spectra of Sn13+-Sn15+ ions have been measured in an electron-beam ion trap (EBIT). A matrix inversion method is employed to unravel convoluted spectra from a mixture of charge states typically present in an EBIT. The method is benchmarked against the spectral features of resonance transitions in Sn13+ and Sn14+ ions. Three new EUV lines in Sn14+ confirm its previously established level structure. This ion is relevant for EUV nanolithography plasma but no detailed experimental data currently exist. We used the Cowan code for first line identifications and assignments in Sn15+. The collisional-radiative modeling capabilities of the Flexible Atomic Code were used to include line intensities in the identification process. Using the 20 lines identified, we have established 17 level energies of the 4p44d configuration as well as the fine-structure splitting of the 4p5 ground-state configuration. Moreover, we provide state-of-the-art ab initio level structure calculations of Sn15+ using the configuration-interaction many-body perturbation code ambit. We find that the here-dominant emission features from the Sn15+ ion lie in the narrow 2% bandwidth around 13.5 nm that is relevant for plasma light sources for state-of-the-art nanolithography

Self-energy correction to the hyperfine structure splitting of the 1s and 2s states in hydrogenlike ions

The one-loop self-energy correction to the hyperfine structure splitting of the 1s and 2s states of hydrogenlike ions is calculated both for the point and finite nucleus. The results of the calculation are combined with other corrections to find the ground state hyperfine splitting in lithiumlike ^{209}Bi^{80+} and ^{165}Ho^{64+}.Comment: The table 2 is changed. 6 pages, 1 figure, Late

Benchmarking High-Field Few-Electron Correlation and QED Contributions in Hg⁷⁵⁺ to Hg⁷⁸⁺ Ions. II. Theory

Theoretical resonance energies for KLL dielectronic recombination into He-, Li-, Be-, and B-like Hg ions are calculated by various means and discussed in detail. We apply the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock and the configuration interaction Dirac-Fock-Sturmian methods, and quantum electrodynamic many-body theory. The different contributions such as relativistic electron interaction, quantum electrodynamic contributions, and finite nuclear size and mass corrections are calculated and their respective theoretical uncertainties are estimated. Our final results are compared to experimental data from the preceding paper. The comparison of theoretical values with the experimental energies shows a good overall agreement for most transitions and illustrates the significance of relativistic electron interaction contributions including correlation, magnetic, and retardation effects and quantum electrodynamic corrections. A few discrepancies found in specific recombination resonances for initially Li- and Be-like Hg ions are pointed out, suggesting the need for further theoretical and experimental studies along these isoelectronic sequences